The death toll in Thursday’s ambush attack on two Army vehicles in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district has reached five. The incident happened amidst an anti-terrorist operation in the Dera Ki Gali area of Thanamandi.
Two other soldiers were injured and have been admitted to a hospital. The bodies of the slain soldiers were mutilated, Army officials said.
The attack happened on Thursday around 3:45 pm when two Army vehicles carrying troops to the operation site were ambushed by terrorists in Dera Ki Gali, also known as DKG. The Army vehicles were carrying soldiers to the site of a cordon-and-search operation.
“An operation was being conducted in the general area DKG (Dera ki Gali), Thanamandi, Rajouri, since the night of 20 December 23. At approximately 3:45 PM on 21 December, two Army vehicles carrying troops were moving to the operational site, which were fired upon by the terrorists. The fire was immediately retaliated upon by own troops,” the Army said in a statement.
Jammu-based defence PRO Lieutenant Colonel Suneel Bartwal said a joint search operation was launched in the general area of DKG based on “hard intelligence” about the presence of terrorists. As additional forces were moving to the site, the ultras fired upon the Army vehicles — a truck and a Maruti Gypsy.
“The troops swiftly responded to the attack,” the defence spokesperson said. The officials have also not ruled out the possibility of the soldiers engaging in hand-to-hand combat with the terrorists during the intense confrontation.
